Japanese Language Resources for Beginners
There are tons of foreign otaku and anime fans who want to learn the Japanese language. I got a head start at it a decade ago when I was a kid, but I've still got room for improvement.
The trick is, I find, to practise regularly. Otherwise it all falls apart and I find myself studying things I should have known years ago. The same goes for beginners! If you don't use what little Japanese you know, you will forget it. So when you learn, be proud! Talk to yourself in Japanese if you don't have any friends! Write your little conversations down on paper to practise the writing.
Remember your goal, what you want to do with this language, and feel excited because you are making steps towards that goal, no matter how small.
With my little speech out of the way, allow me to you a goal that might get you reared up. It's called, JLPT. That is, Japanese Language Proficiency Test. This is a test you can take to get a certificate that shows off your level of Japanese knowledge. Pretty cool, huh? You can frame it and hang it on the wall, and it'll make you feel awesome each time you look at it. There are five levels of JLPT. Beginners can take level N5 or N4, while intermediates take N3 or N2, and advanced speakers of Japanese take N1. The big one. I still want it myself...
Anyway, complete newbies to studying Japanese should aim for JLPT N5. It's a very easy test and you can definitely pull it off if you study enough!
What I'm going to do now is provide a list of resources for said complete newbie to studying Japanese. This list is intended to help beginners study for JLPT N5.
Hiragana & Katakana
First of all, you're going to need to know the two alphabets, Hiragana and Katakana. You will need charts for these. Click here for a Hiragana chart and click here for a Katakana chart. Note that Japanese is traditionally written from right to left, and the same goes for these charts.
Charts are great to refer to, but you're not going to learn the characters just by looking at them. Here is a guide that will help you with pronunciation if you need it. It's great since it's so simple to use; just click on the character and hear it pronounced. That guide is for Hiragana, but the pronunciation is exactly the same for Katakana.
Now you will have to write the characters until you memorise them. It is recommended that you start with the first five characters (あいうえお／アイウエオ) and work your way down slowly. I would also suggest that you study one alphabet at a time!
To help you memorise the characters, there are games on the Internet for testing your skills. I usually bring people straight to Genki Japan for this, but there are plenty of options if you search.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary can seem simple at first. All you have to do is pick up a Japanese-English dictionary and start reading, right? But what words do you start with? Well, if you do have a Japanese-English dictionary, I would suggest looking up whatever simple nouns come to mind, such as "book", "apple", "chair", and so on. But if you're really not too sure about where to begin, there are guides for that, too. Nihongo o Narau is an old site that I actually used when I was studying Japanese, and they have a vocabulary index here, with different categories. I'm surprised they still exist, but it's great for giving to newbies so I'm glad it does.
I want to give out a tip I used when I studied languages when I was younger. For memorising the Japanese words of objects in your house, it might be helpful to make sticky notes with the Japanese word on them. For example, put the Japanese word for refrigerator, "reizouko" on your fridge, and then read and say it every time you open your fridge. Eventually you'll memorise the word and take down the sticky note. You can do this with all sorts of things: wall, window, bookshelf, desk, door... You can get a lot of vocabulary in this way.
Grammar
Grammar is kind of like killing two birds with one stone, because you usually learn new vocabulary in the process. For grammar, I again recommend Nihongo o Narau. I also recommend Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese, which is full of grammar lessons from beginner to advanced! Try not to get too carried away as a beginner, though. I only say that because it can be discouraging if you try to understand something you're not ready for yet, only to give up on it. Stick to the basics and work your way up! Each step is satisfying.
Kanji
Once you start getting the hang of things, you're going to need to pick up Kanji. You're going to start with the Jouyou (common) Kanji, which is divided into different grades. Before learning Kanji, you'll need to understand how they work. Most Kanji have at least two meanings: a Japanese reading (kun'yomi) and a Chinese reading (on'yomi). The character itself has its own meaning as well. They're not alphabetical letters like in Hiragana and Katakana. There is a Kanji for horse, a Kanji for cat, a Kanji for house, and so on.
Kanji are basically Chinese characters that are used in Japanese, which is also why there is a Chinese reading. Japanese readings are more catered towards Japanese linguistic needs, while Chinese readings are based on the original Chinese pronunciation. Whether a Kanji is read in a Japanese reading or a Chinese reading, it still has the same meaning.
For example, while the character for fire (火) has a Japanese reading of "hi" and a Chinese reading of "ka", it's still fire either way.
As for when the Japanese reading or the Chinese reading is used, that depends on the word the Kanji appears in. 火 on its own is hi, the Japanese word for fire. 火 put with the character 星 (star) becomes 火星 (kasei), which means the planet Mars. However, if you put 火 after 花 (flower), it becomes 花火 (hanabi), which means fireworks. From this, you can see that whether the Chinese or Japanese reading is used, it depends on the word. Because of this, you need to learn the words individually in order to memorise which reading is read when.
If you're going to learn Kanji, I highly suggest buying a Kanji dictionary. This is the one I've always used... Well, I have an older version, but it does the job either way.
JLPT N5
All these vocabulary lists and grammar lessons are great, but are they on the test? Well, a lot of it is. It's all important to know if you're going to study Japanese, but you're still going to need a test guide to make sure you are ready. Tanos is a very helpful website when it comes to studying for any level of JLPT. They have a list of vocabulary on the test, as well as grammar, and even Kanji.
If you think you are ready for the JLPT, you can test yourself online on the official JLPT website here. Just keep in mind that the actual JLPT is much longer and will have different questions!
If you pass the online test and think you're ready for the real exam, you can go here to see if the JLPT is held in any cities near you outside of Japan. Good luck with your studies and remember that you can pass the test if you try!
